shanyu
Shanyu, also transliterated as chanyu, is the title given to the supreme ruler of the Xiongnu, a major nomadic confederation on the Eurasian steppe. The term appears in Chinese sources as 單于 (shān yú) and is commonly rendered in English as shanyu or chanyu. The title signified the central authority over a loose alliance of tribes rather than a single centralized state in the sense of sedentary kingdoms. The historical Xiongnu operated from the late 3rd century BCE into the early centuries CE, reaching their peak as a powerful steppe empire that repeatedly challenged Han China.
Etymologically, shanyu is a Chinese transcription of a Xiongnu title whose original pronunciation is not known
Notable figures associated with the title include Modu Chanyu, who is traditionally viewed as uniting the Xiongnu
In modern scholarship, shanyu is used to reference the Xiongnu’s supreme ruler and is a key term